


Holter

by BlueNeutrino



Series: A Hunter's Heart in an Angel's Hands [17]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Anal Sex, Breathplay, Cardiophilia, Fluff and Smut, Heartbeats, M/M, Worried Castiel, where Dean may or may not have a heart condition
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-23
Updated: 2014-10-11
Packaged: 2018-02-18 12:50:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2349020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueNeutrino/pseuds/BlueNeutrino
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cas is worried about Dean's health, and the only way he'll be convinced he's okay is if Dean agrees to wear a Holter monitor for 24 hours.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I was planning to write other stuff this week. I had about three things I planned to either start or update, but the recent response to my cardiophilia stuff has been so wonderful I decided to continue with it.
> 
> This was originally written for never-a-dull-beat on Tumblr, but since I received a prompt recently about Dean developing a heart condition, I thought this would make a good lead in to that, so I've added more and decided to post it here.

“Come on, Dean. Just wear it.”

“Cas, I’m fine. I don’t need it.”

“Please. Humor me.”

Dean glances down uncertainly at the Walkman-looking type thing Cas is holding out to him. The angel’s eyes are fixed on him imploringly, and as Dean glances up again he can feel his resolve wavering. He’s still not crazy about the idea, but give it another minute and he knows he’s going to cave.

It’s currently 7:30am, Sam’s on the breakfast run, and Dean and Cas are in their motel room getting dressed. Dean is, at least. He’s suiting up in FBI gear and has gotten as far as throwing on his pants and shirt, which he was about to start buttoning up before an already-dressed Cas started trying to talk him into wearing this machine thing on his chest.

Dean sighs and shakes his head. “Cas, in the bedroom I’m game for anything, okay? But I’m trying to work a case and I don’t need anything distracting me.”

“I don’t intend for it to be a distraction. I’m worried about your heart, Dean. If you put this on for a day it would bring me peace of mind.” Cas thrusts the device insistently at him, and Dean tries to give him a reassuring look.

“There’s nothing wrong with my heart, Cas.”

“You said you were experiencing chest pain the other day.”

“That wasn’t chest pain, man, it was just heartburn. If I’d known you were gonna make such a big deal over it I wouldn’t have said anything.”

Cas raises an unconvinced eyebrow. “And you’ve been having shortness of breath.” Before Dean can protest, he adds, “ _And_ every time I’ve listened to your heart this past week it’s sounded more strained than usual.”

Dean bites his tongue. He has a feeling Cas might have a point, but this is just a thing that’s happened all his life. The hunting lifestyle isn’t exactly a healthy one. Dean’s gotten injuries and infections and all kinds of health problems over the years that have sorted themselves out on their own. He’s sure that if his heart is playing up a little, it’s no big deal. “Cas, I appreciate your concern. Really, I do. But if there is an issue here, can’t you just heal me like normal?”

The angel still hasn’t lowered the hand holding the thing out to him. “I can if there’s something actually pathological, Dean, but if you’re simply unhealthy I don’t have a quick fix for that.”

Dean scowls. “Do I look unhealthy to you?”

“Dean, you subsist on a diet that’s almost entirely comprised of junk food. No matter how much you look like you’re in good shape, that can’t be beneficial to your heart.” There’s genuine concern in his eyes as he continues to stare at the hunter.

This is it, Dean knows. This is the point he’s gonna cave. “Alright, if it’ll make you feel better,” he concedes, taking the device off of Cas. “So what do I do with it?”

“Here, I’ll help you put it on,” Cas offers, picking up the leads protruding from the box and then starting to attach the stickered electrodes to Dean’s chest. Dean squirms a little, but he’s not gonna complain about Cas touching him. The angel places two pads just below Dean’s collarbone - one on each side of his sternum – and then a further two lower down on his chest and one closer to the center. Once he’s done, he takes the box the wires are attached to and slips it into the pocket of Dean’s slacks. “There,” he says before stepping back and allowing Dean to finally start buttoning up his shirt.

Dean seems to feel a little awkward with all the wires stuck to him below the material, but he doesn’t complain. “So how does this all work, then?” he asks curiously, moving on to his tie.

“You wear that for twenty-four hours, then I take it off and go over the recordings to check your heart rhythms are normal.”

“So you’re gonna sit and go over twenty-four hours-worth of squiggly lines?”

“Yes.”

“Wow, that sounds boring.”

“I’m not doing it because it’s fun, Dean. I’m doing it because I want to make sure you’re okay.”

Dean’s touched by that, and he shoots the angel a smile. He thinks he can tolerate the inconvenience of this for twenty-four hours if it puts Cas’ mind at rest. “So, uh…” he says with a flirtatious smirk. “You think you need to do a stress test on my heart too? Just to check it can cope, say, when I’m having sex?”

Cas grins back. “Oh, I intend to,” he replies, eyes glinting mischievously. “But first, let’s just get you through the day.”

He gives Dean a wink and a pat on the shoulder just as Sam returns with their breakfast.


	2. Chapter 2

Sam notices. He probably notices pretty early on in the day, actually, but it isn’t until he and Dean have rolled up in the Impala outside the library at lunchtime that he actually says anything. Dean’s about to get out of the car, since there’s some public records they need to get hold of to help with the case, but Sam shoots him the question before his hand’s reached the door handle.

“So is that a new EMF meter you’re carrying around or what?”

Dean turns to look back at him, hand falling back to his side. “Excuse me?”

“In your pocket. It looks like it’s got wires coming out of it or something and I’m trying to figure out what it is.”

“Oh.” Sam thinks Dean is starting to turn a little red, and he wonders why. “This is nothing. It’s just something Cas wants me to wear.” He readjusts his jacket to try to hide the wires sneaking under his waistband and looks away awkwardly.

Now Sam’s curiosity is definitely piqued. “Why? What is it?”

“Heart monitor,” Dean answers brusquely. “Cas thinks there might be something wrong with my heart and he wants to check on it, but honestly he’s worrying over nothing.”

Sam frowns. That answer is definitely concerning. Dean seems like he’s trying way too hard to be dismissive. “Why would he think there’s something wrong with your heart?”

“I dunno, man. He’s just being a hypochondriac.”

“That’s not what a hypochondriac is.”

“Shut up. Overly-concerned boyfriend, then. You know what I mean.”

Dean’s attitude really isn’t helping put Sam’s mind at rest. He does wonder why Cas hasn’t said anything if he’s worried enough to get Dean to do this. “Look, Dean, I’m pretty sure Cas wouldn’t get you to do this unless he had a good reason to be worried.” Dean opens his mouth to dispute that again, but Sam continues. “And I’m also pretty sure that you wouldn’t agree to it unless you thought he might be right. So are you sure everything’s fine?”

Dean clenches his jaw and stares anxiously at Sam for a moment or two, as if he might be about to own up to something, but then shrugs. “Yeah. I don’t know why he’s worried. I’ll have this thing off in a few hours anyway and then you’ll both see nothing’s wrong.”

Sam really gets the feeling there’s something Dean isn’t telling him, but he isn’t going to push it right now. Maybe he’ll have to talk to Cas. “Okay…” he says, sounding unconvinced, and Dean quickly takes the opportunity to open the car door.

“Great. Now don’t we have a job to be doing?” he says as he steps out.

Feeling a lot more concerned than he had been a few minutes ago, Sam follows.


	3. Chapter 3

Dean’s back collides with the mattress a moment after Cas shoves him down. He’s naked from the waist up, but he’s still wearing that damn heart monitor thing and as he hits the bed the box slides from his pocket and tugs at the wires on his chest. Two of them come loose as the clunky box bounces with the force of the impact.

“Dammit, this thing’s just gonna get in the way,” Dean grumbles as he reaches for the box while Cas starts to crawl on top of him, the angel in a similar state of undress.

“Don’t worry about it,” Cas dismisses, gently prying the box from Dean’s hands and setting it down just by his hip. “It’s not going be a problem. You won’t even have to think about it.”

Dean’s about to retort that he’s been trying and failing to not think about it all day, but his response dies on his lips as he suddenly becomes distracted by what Cas is doing. The angel has picked up one of the electrodes that came loose and lowered his lips to the spot where it was stuck onto Dean’s chest. Dean feels the softness of Cas’ lips against his skin, a puff of warmth breath, and then Cas pulls his mouth away to carefully press the sticker back into place. He does the same with the other one, and then his eyes return to Dean’s face while his fingertips trace patterns between the wires. “Does that feel good?” he murmurs while his other hand reaches for the zipper of Dean’s pants, slowly opening them and then creeping inside to palm Dean through his boxers.

Dean sighs, eyes fluttering shut. “God yes,” he breathes out, relishing the feel of Cas’ warm hand dragging along his dick through the fabric. His heartbeat drums away beneath the angel’s fingertips. “How does it feel to you?”

With his eyes still closed, Dean doesn’t see the way Castiel smiles, but he can almost hear it in the reply. “Wonderful,” Cas whispers back, his answer as deliberately vague as the question, but they both know it’s Dean’s heart he’s referring to. Castiel loves the feel of it, so full of life and excitement as it continues to beat increasingly quicker for him, and, right now, it feels healthy. That’s something the angel finds reassuring.

“How about this?” Dean asks, his own hands going to Cas’ pants and working them open before he reaches in to pull out Cas’ cock. A faint groan of pleasure rumbles in the angel’s throat as he leans in even closer, biting his lip at the smooth-and-tight glide of Dean’s fingers along his length.

“All of you feels wonderful,” he growls, lowering his mouth to Dean’s so that he captures Dean’s bottom lip lightly between his teeth. He nibbles on it teasingly before pulling back, darkened eyes locked on the hunter’s. “I need _more._ ”

Cas’ hands move swiftly from Dean’s cock to tug at the material of his clothes, still covering him from the waist down. Dean wriggles his hips co-operatively as Cas works to free him from the offending material, returning the favour by pushing down Cas’ pants as their lips once again crash together. Once they’ve managed to kick off the last of the garments they both collapse down onto the bed, pressed chest-to-chest while Cas’ hands rake through Dean’s hair and the hunter’s fingers claw at Cas’ back.

The wires, actually, aren’t getting in the way.

They continue to passionately make out for several minutes, grinding together at the hips so they both feel the smooth slide of skin contrasted with the coarse fuzz of pubic hair against their cocks. It takes a while for Cas to finally pull back and remember that he needs to check on Dean.

“You okay?” he asks softly, one hand tangled in Dean’s hair while Dean has brought up both of his to cup Cas’ face.

“Yeah. I’m better than okay, as long as we don’t stop…” He leans upwards again to claim Cas’ mouth with his own, but the kiss is only momentary before Cas pulls gently back again.

“You’re sure? And your heart feels okay?”

“I promise, it’s been fine all day. Nothing’s wrong.”

Cas gives him a pensive look, still concerned, but that’s what the heart monitor’s for. “Alright, I guess we should keep going, then.” He shoots Dean a grin before reaching over to the nightstand for the bottle of lube, uncapping it and squirting some onto his hands, but before he can set it aside again Dean quickly takes it from him. The hunter dispenses some of the liquid onto his own fingers and then grabs hold of Cas’ cock, beginning to rub the lube on while he invitingly spreads his legs.

Cas watches, wide-eyed at the sight of Dean’s hole puckering and unclenching for him, Dean’s hand insistently pulling his cock closer. His own heart is beating heavily, and he doesn’t need the monitor to know how hard Dean’s must be pounding right now.

“Cas, please…” Dean’s voice is hoarse with lust as he stares pleadingly up at Cas. His eyes are half-lidded and he seems barely able to finish the sentence, but he doesn’t need to.

“Shh…” Cas says, moving one finger to press against Dean’s lips while another goes to lightly circle Dean’s entrance. Dean mewls softly at the touch, eyes squeezing shut and a delighted sigh easing from his chest as Cas presses inside. The angel starts to rub along Dean’s walls, spreading the lube while he feels Dean clench tightly around him. He takes his time, carefully stretching Dean open and provoking a whimper every time he flicks at the man’s prostate, loving the reaction it triggers.

When he finally slides his fingers out again, Dean is almost coming apart with need and desperation. “ _Please_ , Cas, want you so bad…” the hunter begs, and Cas grins as he lines himself up at Dean’s entrance.

“You ready?”

The question is meant as a tease, delaying everything for one more agonizing second before Dean answers, “ _Yes_.”

Cas slides into him. Dean bites his lip and lets out a soft grunt, tempted to close his eyes but unable to look away from the angel’s face. It feels like he’s falling into those stunning blue eyes at the same time as Cas inches further inside, filling him completely. There’s a giddiness as Dean becomes overwhelmingly aware of everything inside him: his heart’s jumping, pounding hard within his chest while he can feel Cas filling him, surrounding him, pervading every inch of his awareness…

Slowly, Cas rocks his hips, and Dean almost forgets how to breathe. He’s becoming lost in the sensations as the angel shifts his weight, and then Cas’ lips are on his mouth again. Their kiss deepens, Dean drawing the angel’s tongue into his mouth in his eagerness to feel more of Cas inside of him, while Cas willing explores deeper inside of Dean.

They start off steady, circling their hips in time with each other while their hands make lazy caresses against each other’s skin. Cas’ mouth is soft against Dean’s before Dean retracts his lips by just a fraction of an inch. “Come on, Cas,” he murmurs. “It’s not much of a stress test if you go all sweet and tender on me.”

Cas smirks as he presses his forehead against Dean’s, staring deep into the hunter’s eyes. “Well, if that’s how you want it,” he whispers back, his voice a breathy rasp, and then without warning his right hand moves swiftly to clamp down over Dean’s nose and mouth.

Dean’s body jerks, a sudden burst of panic as he realises he can’t breathe, but then he calms himself as he surrenders and lets Cas take complete control. The angel’s thrusts suddenly become much rougher, pounding into him with increasing pace, and Dean feels his muscles straining to keep time. He needs to breathe, can feel the pressure building in his chest before he’s held on long enough and Cas finally lets him suck in a breath: one deep gulp before the angel’s hand clamps down again. Cas moves his mouth to Dean’s jaw, teeth scraping along stubble before starting to nip and suckle down Dean’s throat. His free hand goes to Dean’s cock, starting to jerk him roughly so that muffled groans sound in Dean’s throat with each tug.

While it may not feel like it to Dean, Cas is still holding back. There’s still a worry very close to the front of the angel’s mind that something’s wrong: there’s something the matter with Dean’s heart and Cas doesn’t know what, and even now he might already be pushing Dean too far. Of course Dean’s insisting he’s fine, but Cas _knows_ there was something the matter the other day and this isn’t all in his head. Dean’s downplaying it, but Cas is hoping that if there’s a problem then the Holter monitor is going to reveal it. He guesses it makes sense to place Dean’s heart under stress.

Cas rocks his hips faster, pushing further into Dean with each one, and he brings his mouth to settle against Dean’s pulse point. He can feel Dean’s heartbeat jumping beneath his lips, hard and fast, and it’s both thrilling and reassuring. The monitor box is still lying on the bed just a few inches beside them, but although there’s a display on it that show’s Dean’s heart rate, Cas won’t be able to properly assess if there’s any irregularities in the rhythm until he’s gone over the readings later. For now, just making sure he can feel Dean’s pulse while he fucks him is enough. Making sure that Dean enjoys this, given how hesitant he’d been to wear the monitor in the first place, is also a priority.

Cas lets Dean breathe again and this time leaves his hand away, wanting to hear the noises Dean makes as the angel brings him to climax. He starts to thrust even harder, causing Dean to make sharp, breathless grunts with each snap of his hips that turn into outright moans of pleasure as Cas thumbs at his slit. Cas begins to tug harder with the hand he has around Dean’s cock, closing his eyes and sucking fiercely at the skin of Dean’s neck until all the blood has rushed to the surface. He can feel his own orgasm building the faster he moves his hips and the faster Dean’s pulse pounds against his mouth, but he’s determined to not come first.

Dean’s close. The thundering of his heart and the increasing volume of his cries show that he’s almost at the edge, and it take one more harsh pump from Cas and the feel of teeth nipping sharply at his neck to push him over. Dean yells and arches his back as he comes, spurting out hot and hard into the hand Cas has moved to catch it so as to spare any mess getting on the wires.

As the waves of pleasure wash over Dean, Cas finally lets himself go. He can feel Dean clenching around him so tightly that his vision almost blacks out as he releases the pressure inside him, spilling into Dean in several bursts before the pair of them collapse down onto each other. They lay breathless and panting for a few moments before Cas lifts his head and reaches for the heart monitor. He reads the display and then turns his head to stare back at Dean. “134.”

Dean raises a questioning eyebrow. “Is that good?”

“For short periods, as long as your heart isn’t strained. What’s important is how you’re feeling.” Cas gives Dean a concerned look, and Dean responds with a dopey smile as he recalls the bliss of just moments ago.

“I’m great, Cas. Honestly, that was freakin’ awesome…”

“And your heart feels okay?”

“ _Yes.”_ Dean almost seems a little exasperated that Cas keeps asking, before tilting his head to press a reassuring kiss against Cas’ brow. “It coped with that just fine, didn’t it? I promise I’m okay.”

“I’ll know that when I check the readings,” Cas replies, still looking a little worried as he returns the kiss with one to Dean’s cheek. “But I need to get data while you’re sleeping too. You just rest now and I’ll take the monitor off in the morning.”

Dean smiles a little and then yawns. “Alright,” he says sleepily, closing his eyes. “If it makes you feel better why don’t you listen to my heart while I’m sleeping?”

“I plan to,” Cas answers, shuffling himself down the bed so that he can lay his head against Dean’s chest. The wires are kind of a nuisance, but not enough that it stops him from being able to hear the thumping of Dean’s heart, still fast but gradually slowing. The rhythm sounds comfortingly normal, as far as Cas can tell.

He knows he could get up, but he doesn’t want to disturb Dean and so Cas zaps the blankets over to them. “Goodnight, Dean,” he murmurs, nuzzling further into Dean’s chest, and Dean responds with a sleepy “G’night, Cas,” as they both settle down to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Dean asks the question after one and a half days, after they’ve gotten back to the bunker and he knows Cas has had time to go over the results. He’s been trying not to nag, but now Sam has started with the worry-incessantly-about-Dean thing as well, and Dean can do without having to keep repeatedly reassuring both of them. He’s fine. Really. He just needs the test results to prove it and then everybody’s mind will be at rest.

“So, um…you convinced that I’m okay yet?” Dean asks the question pretty much straight away when Cas walks into the kitchen, while Sam is off somewhere else. He wonders if asking so suddenly comes across as being worried, but he’s pretty sure that Cas has just come back from looking over the readings. In which case, he thinks he should probably have played it cool and let Cas tell him without being asked, but it’s too late to take the question back now.

Cas hesitates a moment before he answers, studying Dean carefully as if trying to figure out if that actually was a note of anxiety he heard in Dean’s voice, or if he should read anything into it.

Dean is regretting saying anything. He made it sound way too urgent. _I’m fine,_ he keeps thinking. _Really, there’s nothing wrong. He knows that…right?_

Cas takes a seat opposite Dean at the table and makes a point of looking him in the eyes. His tone is measured when he makes his reply. “There was nothing in the results to explicitly suggest there’s an ongoing problem with your heart.”

That’s a relief to hear. Dean leans back in his chair and raises his hands, palms upwards, as if to say _I told you so_. “There. See. You can stop worrying now.”

Just those few words don’t seem enough to have convinced Cas, who frowns slightly at Dean’s response. That just seemed too glib, too genuinely relieved, and trying too hard to brush it off. “Dean, there are however still some things that concern me. You had several occurrences throughout the day of a significantly elevated heart rate for extended periods…”

“Well, I did spend a lot of time getting knocked about by a ghost, and running around trying to kill it, and then there was the part where you and I had really great sex, so…business as usual,” Dean responds dismissively, but Cas is still looking concerned.

“… _and_ a few instances of skipped beats, which normally I would say are benign, but in your case, when your heart ends up beating so fast so frequently, I think there’s a possibility it’s disguising another problem.”

“So you’re saying that even when the test says I’m fine, you just can’t bring yourself to believe it?”

Dean doesn’t mean it to come out sounding so snide, but it does, and he immediately regrets it as a look of hurt flashes over Cas’ face. The angel’s eyes narrow, trying to disguise his upset as he responds somewhat coolly, “Do you find my concern for your wellbeing annoying?”

“No, Cas, that’s not what I meant…” Dean wishes he could take back the last thing he said. Yes, he thinks he _is_ annoyed over Cas being so relentless about this. A little. Maybe. But he knows it’s not fair and he honestly is grateful for the concern Cas shows. “I just don’t want you to worry, okay?”

“Dean, _of course_ I worry about you.”

“But what I’m saying is, you don’t have to. Not over this. If something was wrong you’d be able to tell and you could heal me, like you always have.”

Cas gives an exasperated sigh. “That’s just it, Dean. I do _have_ a sense that something’s wrong. _You_ are giving me the sense that something’s wrong. And I just want to be able to check because my powers don’t seem able to fix this and that worries me.”

He’s looking distressed, genuinely, and Dean reaches across the table to take hold of his hand and give it a both apologetic and reassuring squeeze. “There’s nothing to fix, Cas. You just need to trust the test, okay? Doctors wouldn’t use it if it didn’t work.”

The angel considers it for a moment, glancing down at the table and then up into Dean’s eyes again, who’s giving him such an intense look that he thinks he’s almost convinced. Dean should know better than anyone else if he’s feeling okay or not, and he wouldn’t hide anything from Cas. Maybe the angel should just trust him, and trust the test, and not keep worrying over this. “No, you’re right,” Cas says quietly, turning his hand within Dean’s to intertwine their fingers. “I suppose I have been somewhat…overbearing about this. I can accept the results and we can go back to how things were before.”

“I’d like that,” Dean replies softly, his mouth twitching in a smile. “Do you think you could tell Sam that too? Because I’ve got him worrying himself stupid over nothing now as well.”

Cas blushes a little, feeling bad for the anxiety he’s caused. “Of course I will. I’m glad you’re okay, Dean.” He says the last part with a warm, sincere smile, staring directly into the hunter’s eyes.

There’s just the briefest moment of hesitation before Dean replies, “Me too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can treat this as an ending, but personally, I think Dean's being an idiot and I have another prompt to fill, so I'm going to do a brief sequel that should be posted some time soon.


End file.
